‘Downton Abbey’ Is Back. Can Class Finally Be Dismissed?

By

Daniel Akst

Jan 8, 2013 12:32 pm ET

The third season of “Downton Abbey” opened on PBS Sunday night, giving everyone a chance to revel in a time when inequality was greater than it is now and the rich were always dressed to the nines. The class system portrayed in the series got me thinking about our collective fascination with the program (nearly 8 million Americans watched), and whether our own class anxieties might play a role.